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HALIFAX — Advocates of medical marijuana are hailing a landmark Nova Scotia court ruling, hoping it leads the way to taxpayer-funded pot supplies for low-income patients across Canada.

Last week the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ordered the provincial government to pick up the tab for the medical marijuana smoked by Sally Campbell, a chronically ill woman on welfare.

Some provinces already pay for the marijuana prescribed to patients under workers' compensation claims. Since 2008, the federal government has also paid for the marijuana consumed by a handful of military veterans receiving disability benefits.

But until now, no province has covered the cost of doctor-prescribed marijuana for people on social assistance, according to a cross-Canada survey by the Nova Scotia government.

"This is a new and developing area of law. I'm not aware of any precedent in this area," says Kirk Tousaw, a Vancouver Island lawyer who represents people seeking federal licences for the medical use of marijuana.

Tousaw says the Nova Scotia ruling may not immediately or directly influence the law in other provinces. However, "it does represent a court saying that this particular drug deserves to be financially covered in certain circumstances," he says.

"I think it's a very positive development, and I think the ruling is going to benefit people in other provinces who are seeking to make similar claims."

Even more optimistic is Chad Clelland, the director of community relations for Medicalmarijuana.ca — a national coalition of doctors, patients and pot-growers that has spent years helping low-income Canadians find affordable sources of medicinal pot.

"It would be fantastic if this case opened the door in other provinces, if it helped needy patients get affordable access to marijuana," he says. "I would love these people to be taken care of on a large scale."

Roughly 4,000 Canadians are licensed by Health Canada to legally use and posses marijuana. Like Campbell, many are beset by chronic illnesses that make it difficult for them to work. As a result, many can't afford the hundreds of dollars it costs every month to buy the marijuana their doctors say they need.

"If a doctor prescribes OxyContin or an asthma inhaler, or any recognized pharmaceutical, patients on social assistance or disability can often get those products for next to nothing through a private or government insurance program. They would have their prescriptions paid for," says Clelland.

"If marijuana is a prescribed medication, and the patients are eligible through Health Canada, then it should be covered just like any other medication that's available to them."

Less happy about the matter is the Nova Scotia government, which for years fought Halifax resident Campbell's request for an increase in her provincial income assistance, to pay for her monthly pot supply.

Campbell suffers from chronic hepatitis C and fibromyalgia, and has a licence from Health Canada to use marijuana — she smokes it or makes tea with it — to alleviate her symptoms.

The court ruled that since Parliament has made marijuana legal for medical purposes, and since the drug is "essential" for Campbell's quality of life, its costs should be covered by the province in the same way that prescription drugs are covered for people on income assistance.

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter has said what worries him about the decision is not having to fork out money for Campbell's marijuana, but that the ruling may result in the cash-strapped province having to pay for a host of other medications, or expensive alternative treatments, that are not currently covered.

Governments have also expressed concern in the past about paying for medical marijuana that might end up being resold illegally and used for criminal purposes.

Campbell's lawyer says she expects Dexter to appeal the ruling, simply because of concerns about the optics of funding marijuana use.

"They're only fighting it," says Donna Franey, "because it's marijuana and it has a stigma around it. There's a real reluctance there."

British Columbia — ground zero in the public campaign to legalize marijuana in Canada — has no plans to cover the cost of medical marijuana for people on social assistance, a provincial spokesman said Thursday.

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